Cognition (291)

Concept (291)

Prototype (292)

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

Intelligence Test (318)

Mental Age (318)

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet (318)

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) (318)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Predictive Validity (323)

Intellectual Disability

(formerly referred to as mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Rose; Flower

Mental Set

During his early school years, Charlie got away with copying his test answers from classmates. Because the university has test proctors who are very observant, Charlie spends as many hours devising new ways to cheat as it would take him to study and perform well in an honest fashion. Charlie's strategy for passing tests illustrates the consequences of

Availability Heuristic

By encouraging people to imagine their homes being destroyed by winds from a hurricane, insurance salespeople are especially successful at selling large homeowners' policies. They are most clearly exploiting the influence of

The Belief Perserverence Phenomenon

Andre first became suspicious of his roommate's honesty when he could not find his wallet. Although Andre later recalled that he had left his wallet in the glove compartment of his own car, his newly formed doubt about his roommate's honesty remained as strong as ever. Andre's irrational suspicion of his roommate best illustrates

Framing

On Monday, the meteorologist forecast a 20 percent chance of rain, so Sheryl took her umbrella to work. On Friday, he reported an 80 percent chance that it would not rain, so Sheryl left her umbrella at home. Sheryl's behavior illustrates the effect of

Someone With Savant Syndrome

Twenty-five-year-old Alexandra is mentally handicapped and can neither read nor write. However, after hearing lengthy, unfamiliar, and complex musical selections just once, she can reproduce them precisely on the piano. It is likely that Alexandra is

Normal Curve

Content Validity

Your psychology professor has announced that the next test will assess your understanding of sensation and perception. When you receive the test, however, you find that very few questions actually relate to these topics. In this instance, you would be most concerned about the ________ of the test.

Are Born With An Extra Chromosome

Stereotype Threat

Jim, age 55, plays basketball with much younger adults and is concerned that his teammates might consider his age to be a detriment to their game outcome. His concern actually undermines his athletic performance. This best illustrates the impact of